


This Is My Stop

by punkcatknitter



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: F/M, Gen, Post-Episode AU: Say Goodnight Gracie, Song Lyrics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-21
Updated: 2015-04-21
Packaged: 2018-03-25 04:31:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3796789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkcatknitter/pseuds/punkcatknitter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An alternate ending to Say Goodnight Gracie. What if Rory didn't let Jess leave without her?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I finally decided to archive my old GG fics here for posterity, with the original author's notes if I still have them. Some are better than others, but I was so proud of them at the time.

**This Is My Stop**

_Goodbye my love_   
_I am going…_

 

“This is my stop,” Rory said softly, her eyes fluttering up just long enough to catch the pained look in Jess’ eyes. Screeching to a halt, the bus jolted, sending Rory slightly to the left. She braced herself by resting a hand on Jess’ knee.

He gritted his teeth. _No more_ , he thought. “Okay.” He took a deep breath, willing himself not to say anything else. _Don’t, whatever you do, don’t tell her. Just leave. It’s better this way. Really._

She forced a half-hearted smile, causing Jess to swallow hard. “So, you’ll call me?” she asked. Her eyes looked doubtful, but her voice displayed the teeniest bit of hope. Blinking, Rory stood up, finally removing her small hand from its place on his leg.

“Yeah, I’ll call you,” Jess echoed, suddenly feeling empty without the warmth from her fingers. His tortured eyes followed her as she picked up her backpack and walked to the door of the bus. She paused, looking back at him. One look from her icy blue eyes sent a shiver down his spine.

_Don’t look back. It will turn you into a pillar of salt,_ Jess thought sardonically.

Her hand reached to grab the railing. One foot was poised above the step, and then she stopped. Jess felt his stomach tense. _What was she doing?_ With what he could only describe as an angry flounce, Rory turned on her heels and walked back.

The bus continued on as she sat back down next to him. He reminded himself to breathe and tried not to look at her.

He closed his eyes. _Leave,_ he silently commanded. But when he opened them again, she was still there.

Her expression scared him. Her arms were folded and her eyes narrowed with what he liked to call her “get back” stare. “I don’t believe you,” she said finally, after what seemed like years of silence.

Jess blinked.

“I mean,” she continued, her voice getting louder and angrier,” you’ve been acting weird for days, and we had what I’m assuming was a fight at Kyle’s party. I find you on a bus, heading in a direction you never go, and you expect me to believe this is all a coincidence?”

Actually, he had. He’d been counting on the fact that he’d scared her the other night when he yelled. Hoping and praying that she would accept this, without question. Apparently, it was not meant to be.

“What’s that?” she asked, now much calmer. One delicate finger was pointing to his duffel bag. Her face contorted slightly as she looked at it. She knew, he realized. Maybe even before she’d seen his bag. She knew.

_I am slowing you down_   
_I can feel you stop breathing_   
_When I come around_   
_I'm slowing you down…_

Jess remained silent as her eyes welled up with angry tears. He tried to reassure himself that he was doing the right thing, but somehow it wasn’t working anymore. Damn you! He thought furiously. _Why couldn’t you have just let me go?_

She blinked hard, turning her eyes to the front of the bus.

“You’re going to be late for school.”

“Yes.”

Obviously, his subtle hint was not being taken well. If looks could kill, right now Rory would have murdered him, several times over. They were almost there and she showed no sign of leaving.

“Sooner or later you’ll have to talk, you know,” she said, as they pulled into another bus station.

Yeah, he knew. “Not right now,” he said gruffly, standing up and grabbing his bag.

“Fine.” Rory stood up as well. “But I’m not leaving until you do.”

_Everyday_   
_Everyday_   
_Everyday_   
_Everyday_   
_Love turns its back just to stand in my way_

_Goodbye my love_   
_You don't get me_   
_You don't let me inside_   
_You once held me close_   
_When you wanted to hide_   
_You pulled me in close_   
_Just to push me aside_   
_Goodbye._

“Where does this bus go to?” Rory asked, pointing to the bus that, moments earlier, Jess had stepped onto. The conductor, janitor, or whoever he was raised an eyebrow, like he thought she was insane.

However, she was in a plaid skirt, so she let it go. “And how long does it take?” she added.

“California,” the man said eventually. “Two days, non-stop.”

Rory nodded and turned to the ticket counter. Several minutes later, ticket in hand, she stepped back up to the bus and boarded.

She spotted Jess immediately, spread out across two seats in the back. She marched over to him and kicked his foot. “Move.”

He looked up, surprised. He obviously didn’t think very much of her if he thought she would give up that easily.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

His voice was loud and angry, but she was beyond caring. This was going to be the last time she let him push her away without knowing why. “Apparently, I’m going to California.” Her tone was calm, and steady.

_Never let him know you’re scared,_ she instructed herself. And scared she was, but she was more stubborn. _I won’t back down._

_Goodbye my love_   
_I'm going away_   
_I know you won't follow me far_   
_Once I went out just to look at the stars_   
_I asked you to join me,_   
_But you were too tired_   
_I wanted you to see them too._   
_How could I let myself need you?_

Jess rested his forehead on the cool glass, trying to ignore the fact that Rory’s warm body was pressed against his shoulder at this very moment. _California_ , he thought. She’d never make it that far. After one night spent in an uncomfortable bus with unsanitary bathrooms, she’d be on the first bus back to Star’s Hollow.

Wouldn’t she?

There was no room for doubts. Sure, he hadn’t expected her to get on the bus, not even telling her mother where she was. That was unlike Rory. The stubbornness wasn’t, however. Hadn’t she forced him to participate in town activities? Or maybe forced wasn’t the right word. Coerced was more like it.

Anger radiated from her small body. He’d wanted her to be angry, just not angry like this. Jess wanted her to be angry and never speak to him again, not follow him on a cross-country trip.

Then there was the fact she said that she wasn’t leaving until he talked to her. That alone was just too much. Communication was not his strong point, she knew that. Eventually she’d just have to accept the way that things were.

As the he stared out the window, trees and houses rushed by. Ten hours. It had already been longer than he’d expected her to last. They’d passed several state lines, and she’d even used the restroom aboard the bus. Yet, she was still here, beside him. Earlier she had dozed off in her seat while reading a book, and a jerk of the bus knocked her head onto Jess’ shoulder. He was too much of a coward to make her move. Instead he sat there, not moving for fear of waking her. She was so beautiful, but she needed to go home.

He couldn’t talk, and she shouldn’t follow him. Should be as simple as that.

Yet it wasn’t.

_Goodbye my love_   
_I am going_   
_I am slowing you down_   
_I can feel you stop breathing_   
_When I come around_   
_I'm slowing you down_

_Everyday_   
_Everyday_   
_Everyday_   
_Everyday, love turns its back just to stand in my way._

The End


	2. This Is My Daughter

**This Is My Daughter**

_Waking up this morning_  
_Thinking this can’t be real_

“Where’s Rory?” Paris demanded, her voice rising to an exceptionally shrill tone, even for her.

Lorelai tilted the phone away from her ear as Luke sighed. He made a half-hearted motion to the “no cell phones” sign, but it would hardly do any good. It never did.

He tuned out the obnoxious screech coming from the phone, and continued wiping off the counter. Save for an elderly couple in a corner, the diner was empty, due to an uncommon mid-afternoon lull. He frowned. There was a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, one that he didn’t like.

Deep blue eyes met his. As Luke stared at Lorelai he felt something more than just the usual thumping of his heart. Instead, he felt fear grip him as her expression translated across their invisible bond.

She managed to get Paris to go away, although Luke was too worried by that point to really notice how. _What happened?_ He silently asked. Something was going on. Something that wasn’t good.

Relax, Lorelai instructed herself as she placed the phone on the counter. Luke looked up at her questioningly, and she forced a smile. “Everything’s fine.”

Unconvinced, Luke raised his eyebrows.

“Paris was looking for Rory,” she continued. “Apparently they had a big meeting for the paper today and not only did Rory not show up for that, but no one saw her at school.”  
Luke swore under his breath.

 _But they say there is nothing love can’t heal_  
_Why don’t you come on down_  
_So you can feel what I feel…_

A flick of the lock and a flip of the sign rendered the diner officially “closed” for the day. Luke sat down on a stool beside Lorelai. He shifted uncomfortably, wanting to give her comfort, yet not knowing how.

“Jess is gone,” he said finally, avoiding her eyes.

Her head snapped up. “What?” she gasped. “What do you mean he’s gone?”

“I mean, I went to get some money out of the safe and I noticed that all his stuff was missing. I don’t think he’s coming back.”  
“Oh, my god.” Lorelai shivered. “Y-you don’t think they…?” her voice trailed off.

Luke wasn’t sure what he thought anymore. He’d thought Jess was doing okay, not making honor roll or anything, but getting by in his high school classes all the same. He’d thought all his hard work, taking in Jess, stealing the car, everything that he had done, he’d thought it was paying off.

He was very wrong.

 _Sitting all alone in this place_  
_Even though we’re here face to face_

Luke and Lorelai were silent for a long time. They didn’t want to speak. They didn’t want to think. Neither of them wanted to realize what was happening.

But it was.

“Did Rory take anything?” Luke asked finally, raising his eyes from the floor and looking up at Lorelai.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I wasn’t home when she left for school.”

Luke stood up. “Shall we?”

 _There is nothing gone_  
_But there’s something wrong_

“Nothing.” Lorelai leaned back on her heels. “Just schoolbooks.”

Luke peered down at her, kneeling on the floor beside Rory’s dresser. “You sure?”

“Positive.”

“Damn.” Luke’s eyes traveled to a well-worn copy of Anna Karenina that was lying just under Rory’s bed. As he stared at the thick paperback, he found his arm creeping around Lorelai, his hand unconsciously stroking her arm.

Lorelai leaned into him. “Tell me she’s going to be okay,” she whispered.

“She’ll be fine.” And he wasn’t lying. “If I know Rory the way I think I do, you’ll be getting a phone call very soon. Around the time she’d be getting home from Chilton.”

“Probably.” Lorelai nodded.

It was just so scary, knowing your kid was gone. Just…gone. Gone like a half-price pair of Jimmy Choos.

Gone.

 _Can’t you see that I’m stuck here underneath_  
_And you’re making it hard to breathe_

“Rory?” Lorelai grabbed her cell phone so fast when it rang that she nearly dropped it twice. “Ror? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” the voice told her. “I’m…I’m with Jess.”

 _So take a look around and tell me what you see_  
_You’ll find me underneath_

Rory adjusted her grip on the grimy payphone. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It just…happened. He was leaving and he wasn’t going to tell me. He won’t tell me what’s going on, Mom. I have to find out.”

“I know.”

“As far as I can tell, we’re on our way to California. Maybe you could ask Luke if he knows anything?”

“I can do that.” Lorelai’s voice was low and much too calm for the current situation.

A horn honked three times, signaling that the bus was leaving in five minutes. “I have to go, Mom. I’ll call you the next time we stop, okay?”

“Be safe kid.”

It didn’t go unnoticed that Lorelai did not say ‘okay’.

“Bye, Mom.”

 _I know what to say but don’t know where to begin_  
_The fear of losing you beneath my skin_

Luke watched Lorelai pace the room and waited.

“She’s with him,” Lorelai finally admitted.

“I’m gonna kill that kid!” Luke leapt up.

Lorelai put her hand on his arm. “Don’t. It’s not his fault.”

Luke eyed her suspiciously. “It isn’t?”

“Nope.” Lorelai sighed. “This is my daughter. It’s all her.”

Luke sat back down on the bed. “So, now what do we do?” He looked up at her with an innocence in his eyes that she’d never seen before.

“Now we wait.” She sat down beside him on the bed and they sat there in companionable silence.

 _If only you could feel what I dream_  
_Maybe you could hear what I mean_

“I can’t take this anymore!” Luke jumped off the couch.

Lorelai looked away from the E! True Hollywood Story she was watching and blinked up at him. “What’s the matter?”

“What’s the matter?!” He exploded, throwing his arms up. “My nephew has abducted your child, that’s what’s the matter!”

Lorelai turned off the television and sighed. “He didn’t abduct her, Luke. Can you really see any kid of mine doing something she didn’t want to?”

He considered that. She did have a point. “Well, I can’t just sit here and do nothing!”

She shrugged and stood up. “Well then, what do you want to do?”

What he wanted to do? Luke hesitated for only the briefest second. After all, if Rory could take a chance and do something spontaneous, so could he.

Before Lorelai knew it, she was in his arms.

Being kissed by Luke Danes.

 _Cause I’m stuck here underneath_  
_And you’re making it hard to breathe_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lyrics from the song "Underneath" by Hanson.
> 
> There were originally supposed to be 1 or 2 more parts to this story, but sadly they were never written.

**Author's Note:**

> Lyrics from the song "Everyday" by Lisa Loeb.


End file.
